Circular loom



May 3 "FQHALEETAL f 2 83 CIRCULAR LOOM Filed Nov. 12, 1936 Patented May 31, 1938 uNrrEn STATES,

nun won tion of Delaware Application November 12, 19st, Serial No. intact in Great Britain December 2?, 1935 The present invention relates to circular looms, i. e., looms in which the warp threads. are arranged in a circle and in which the weft is laid by means of a relative circular motion between 5 the shuttle or shuttles and the warp threads.

Such relative circular motion between the shuttle or shuttles and the warps, together with the substantial concealment of the shuttle or shuttles within the warp shed or sheds, renders diflo fioult the detection of broken weft threads and the necessarily immediatecommunication of such breakage from the shuttle to means which serve to stop the weaving operation.

It is, ofcourse, of the utmost importance to l5 stop the loom immediately upon weft breakage,

and especially so in multi-shuttle looms, where if the loom continues weaving with one weft absent, a flaw results that cannot be rectified. Thus, even if stoppage is eifected so quickly that only one weft from another shuttle has been laid in the portion of the fabric where the breakage of weft has occurred, it may not be possible to unweave that weft-especially as any "unweaving might probably have to extend to the wefts 25 laid by the other shuttles in the rest of the iabric periphery.

According to the invention, weft breakage is detected by a member carriedby the shuttle and disposed in the path of the weft thread between 30 thread 'tensioning means and the fell of the fabric. Release of the detector member upon breakage of the weft causes a member under control of the detector member to be propelled through one warp sheet to bring about the operation of 35 means disposed outside the warp shed for bringing weaving to an end. These last-mentioned means can be arranged to operate with great rapidity, e. g., by operating electrically as described in U. S. Patent No. 2,027,459 so that weav- 40 mg can cease in time for the fault caused by the weft breakage to be remedied. The invention has the advantage, moreover, that the stop mechanism is not influenced by slackness of the thread delivered from the supply, the thread-tensioning 45 means not only delivering the weft at the required weaving tension, but also guarding against the release ofthe detector member by slackly wound weft or slackness resulting from slight overrunning of a rotatable weft spool or an arm of) serving to unwind weft from astationary spool when the loom stops.

At the commencement of the weaving operation the thread tensioning means is adjusted in accordance with the weaving tension desired in 55 theweit, and the pressure of the detector memweft breakage, mere slackness in the weft proceeding from the supply is inscient to bring 5 about the operation of the detector member.

By way of example a form'of apparatus according to the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing of which 1 Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus incorporated in a shuttle;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation ofpart of Fig. 1, on larger scale; and

Fig. 3 is a plan of part of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1 the shuttle t is of the type described in U. S. Patent No. 2,050,328 and is supported and positioned in the loom by rotatable vane wheels 5 which are mounted on a shaft t and engage pairs of flanged rollers '3 carried by the shuttle.

Weft thread 8 proceeds from a supply spool t to a guide it from which the thread passes through a guide H, held in an amrture formed in a plate it, to the fell it of the fabric. Disposed on the plate It in a position to engage the thread 8 asv it passes from the spool t to the guide it is a device for tensioning the thread. The device comprises a pair of smooth discs i l mounted on a central stud it and urged into contact with each other by a compression spring It, the pressure of which is adjustably controlled by a nut H which screws on the stud lb.

.Between the tensioning device it and the guide it is a detector member formed as a two-armed lever l8, l0 pivoted at 20 (Fig. 2) to an upstanding portion of the plate l2 and urged into clockwise rotation about the pivot by a spring ml (Fig. 3). The arm It carries a thread guide ti which bears down on the tensioned thread t, 4,0 the thread normally preventing the lever from rotating about its pivot. When the detector member is'in the normal (thread-engaging) po-' sition the arm it bears against an arm 22 of a bell-crank lever comprising arms 22, fit pivoted at M to the plate 02. A flat coil spring 2% associated with the bell-crank lever tends to rotate the lever in an anti-clockwise direction, such motion being restrained by the arm it of the detector member. As will be apparent from the drawing slackening of the thread d between the spool t and the tensioning device it has no efiect on the tension in that part of the thread t extending from the tensioning means it to the tell it of M the fabric and consequently cannot bring about the operation of the detector member l8, I9 and the bell-crank lever 22, 23.

0n breakage of the weft thread 8, however, restraint is removed from the guide 2| of the detector member with the result that the member rotates clockwise about its pivot 20 under the influence of the spring IN and frees the bellcrank lever 22, 23. The bell-crank lever immediately rotates anti-clockwise about its pivot 24 under the influence of the spring 25 with the result that the arm 23 of the lever is urged beyond the width of the plate l2 and through a sheet of the relatively moving warm threads (a few of which are illustrated diagrammatically at 21 in Fig. 3) which push the arm 23 and tend to continue the anti-clockwise rotation of the bell-crank lever.

This movementof the arm 28 brings it into contact with a pin 23 outstanding from a rod 29 which is longitudinally disposed on the plate i2 with the result that the rod is: propelled rearwardly through the warp sheet 21 and contacts with a feeler 30 (Fig. 3). The feeler 39 actuates an electric switch 3! of the type described in U. S. application S. No. 98,274 filed 28th,August, 1936 and which operates means for bringing weaving to an end. For full details of the means for bringing weaving to an end reference may be had to U. S. Patent No. 2,027,459. In Fig. 1 the rod 29 is shown broken ofl short of the tensioning device it for convenience of illustration of the tensioning device and the detector member l8, i9. The end of the rod is shown in full however in Figs. 2

, and 3.

The arms 22, t8 of-the bell-crank lever are capable of independent rotation about the pivot 24 and are normally maintained in the angular relation shown in Fig. 3 by' a flat coil spring 32 an end of which is secured to each arm of the lever. In this manner the arm 22 of the lever normally engaged by the arm I 9 of the detector member need only rotate sumciently on release of the detector member to bring the arm 23 into contact with the relatively moving warp threads 21 which then continue the rotation of the arm 23 independently of the arm 22.

When the arm 23 is released from the warp threads 21 on repair of the breakage in the weft thread 8 the spring 32 connecting the two arms of the bell-crank lever returns the arm 23 automatically to the normal position (viz. as shown in Fig. 2) in readiness for the resetting of the lever and the detector member.

Having described our invention. what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a circular loom, a shuttle for laying weft thread at the fell of the fabric, thread tensioning means disposed in the path of the thread at a point between the supply and the fell of the fabric and adapted to impart tension to that length of the thread which extends from the tensioning means to the fell of the fabric, a movable detector member carried by the shuttle and adapted to be restrained from movement by the tensioned length of thread and to be freed for movement on breakage of such thread, the tension imparted to the thread by the tensioning means restraining the detector member irrespective ofthe state of the tension-in the thread extending from the 'supply to the tensioning means, and movable means controlled by the detector member and adapted on freeing of the detector member to be propelled through a warp sheet to bring about t e Operation of means disposed at the other side of the warp sheet for bringing weaving to an end.

2. In a circular loom, a shuttle, a spool in said shuttle for supplying weft to be laid at the fell of the fabric, thread tensioning means disposed on the shuttle in the path of the thread at a point between the supply and the fell of the fabric and adapted to impart tension to that length of the thread which extends from the tensioning means to the fell of the fabric, a pivoted detector mem ber carried by the shuttle and adapted to be restrained from rotating about its pivot by the tensioned length of thread, and to be freed for move.- ment on breakage of such thread, the tension imparted to the thread by the tensioning means'restraining the detector member irrespective of the state of the tension in the thread extending from the supply to the tensioning means, and a pivoted member controlled by the detector member and adapted on freeing of the detector member to rotate about its pivot so as to propel an extension of the member through a warp sheet to bring about the operation of means disposed at the other side of the warp sheet for bringing weaving to an end.

3. In a circular loom, a shuttle for laying weft thread at the fell of the fabric, thread tensioning means disposed in the path of the thread at a point between the supply and the fell of the fabric and adapted to impart tension to that length of the thread which extends from the tensioning meansto the fell of the fabric; means for adjusting the degree of tension imparted to the thread by the tensioning means, a movable detector member carried by the shuttle and adapted to be restrained from movement by the tensioned length of thread and to be freed for movement on breakage of such thread, the tension imparted to the thread by the tensioning means restraining the detector member irrespective of the state of the tension in the thread extending from the supply to the tensioning means, and movable means controlled by the detector member and adapted on freeing of the detector member to be propelled through a warp sheet to bring about the operation of means disposed at the other side of the warp sheet for bringing weaving to an end.

4. In a circular loom a shuttle, a spool in said shuttle for supplying weft to be laid at the felt of the fabric, thread tensioning means disposed on the shuttle in the path of the thread at a point removed from the fell of the fabric, a pivoted detector member carried by the shuttle, a spring adapted to urge said detector member to rotate about its pivot, the detectorv member being restrained from moving by the tensioned thread extending between the tensioning means and the fell of the fabric and freed for movement on thread breakage, and a bell-crank lever pivoted on the shuttle and normally restrained from rotating about its pivot by an extension of the detector member, and adapted on freeing of the detector member to rotate so as to propel an arm of the lever through a warp sheet to bring about the operation of means disposed at the other side of the warp sheet for bringing weaving to an end.

5. In a circular loom a shuttle, a spool in said shuttle forsupplying weft to be laid at the fell of- Q,118,844 iii extending between the tensioning means and the fell of the fabric and freed for movement on thread-breakage, a bell-crank lever pivoted on the shuttle, an extension formed on the detector member and adapted to contact with said bellcrank lever so as to restrain said lever against movement during normalweaving in the loom and to be moved out of contact with the lever by movement of the detector member on thread breakage, and a spring in association with said lever and adapted to rotate said lever about its pivot on removal of restraint from the lever so as to propel an arm of the lever through a warp sheet to bring about the operation of means dis-V posed at the other side of the warp sheet for bringing weaving to an end.

6. In a circular loom, a shuttle for laying weft thread at the fell of the fabric, thread-tensioning means disposed in the path of the thread at a point removed from the fell of the fabric, a movable detector member carried by the shuttle and adapted to be restrained from movement by the tensioned threadextending between the tensionof said arms so as to restrain said arms against movement during normal weaving in the loom and to be moved out of contact with said arm by movement of the detector member on thread breakage, a further spring in association with said arms and adapted to rotate said arms about the pivot on removal of restraint from said arms so as to propel one of said arms through a rela-- tively moving sheet of warp threads, said pro-- pelled arm being adapted to be rotated about the pivot relatively to the other arm by the warp threads so as toibring about the operation of means disposed at the other side of the warp.

sheet for bringing weaving to an end. I

CORBYN l aussau. o 

